Article display board



May 23, 1961 A. N. PARUOLO ARTICLE DISPLAY BOARD Filed Feb. 5, 1958United States Patent 9 ARTICLE DISPLAY BOARD Anthony N. Paruolo,Nor-ridge, 111., assignor to Advertising Metal Display C0,, Chicago,11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 713,418

4 Claims. (Cl. 211-177) This invention relates to improvements indisplay boards, comprising a panel having hangers projecting outwardlytherefrom for the purpose of supporting and displaying various items ofmerchandise, of which fan belts, hose clamps, battery cables areexamples.

' Display boards of the type heretofore designed for this purpose areopen to one or more objections. In certain constructions the boardcomprises a plurality of separate elements mounted on the rear side ofthe board and which must be swung into position in order to lock thehanger members in position. Boards of this type are relatively expensiveto produce and require the use of some sort of tool in order to permitthe assembler to perform the necessary operations.

Other display boards are of such construction that they comprisestruck-out tongues, which must be bent up or out of the plane of themetal of the board in order to lock the hanger member in place. In orderto perform this operation it is also necessary that the assembler haveavailable and use some sort of a tool, such as a screw driver, a pair ofpliers or the like.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a displayboard which can be made of a single sheet of metal of such constructionthat the hanger members can be firmly locked in place without the use oftools of any kind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display board of thistype which can be made of a single sheet of metal and which shall be ofsuch construction that the hanger members can be firmly locked inoperative position without the necessity of manipulating any swingablemembers or bending struck-out tongues or the like.

Again, it is an object of the invention to provide a display board ofthis type, which can be made at low cost; which can be shipped inknocked-down condition; which can be assembled quickly and easily andwhich, when assembled, shall constitute a sturdy structure with thehanger members firmly locked in operative position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be betterunderstood by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating thepreferred embodiment of the invention, in which Fig. l is a perspectiveview of an article display board embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the hanger members, a number ofwhich are assembled with the display board and locked in positionthereon.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. l, but onan enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating one stepor stage of assembling the hanger member of Fig. 2 with other parts ofthe structure.

Fig. 5 is a view on the line 5-5 of Fig. l but on the scale of Fig. 4,showing the hanger member locked in its final position, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, longitudinal, horizontal, secice tional view onthe line 6-6 of Fig. 5, but on a slightly smaller scale.

The article display board is made of a sheet of material 10, preferablysheet metal, provided with a plurality of hangers 11 projectingtherefrom for the purpose of displaying articles and from which thearticles can be readily removed, when required.

The unit structure or panel 10 has a bottom portion 12 which, as bestshown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, extends rearwardly from the panel 10, thelatter having a plurality of spaced openings 13 therein, the lowerportions of which are substantially in the plane of the rearwardlyextending portion 12. The diameter of the openings 13 is substantiallyequal to the diameter of the rod stock of which the hangers 11 is made.However, a small portion of the stock 12 is preferably cut away at 13'to facilitate the assembly operation, as will be later explained.

The hanger members, one of which is shown de tached from the board inFig. 2, each comprises a rod, preferably of metal, having a yoke portion14 and arm portions 15, the outer ends of the latter preferablyterminating in upwardly bent portions 15E.

The rearwardly extending bottom portion 12 of the board unit terminatesin a plurality of longitudinally spaced sections each of which, as awhole, bears the reference 16, and which are spaced apart by cut-outareas 17 of a width but slightly greater than the diameter of the hangerrod stock so that the latter may be snugly received therein.

Each section 16 comprises a portion 18 upstanding from the rearwardlyextending bottom portion 12, a downwardly and rearwardly extendingcurved portion 19, the latter merging into a reversely curved portion 20which terminates in a slightly forwardly and upwardly extending camsurface portion 21. There is thus provided a downward and somewhatrearwardly facing channel 22 which extends substantially throughout thelength of the display board except for the cut-out areas 17.

The panel member 10 is provided with openings 23 through which screws orthe like may be inserted for securing the display board to a wall orother support.

It will be understood that the unit will be shipped in knocked-downcondition, i.e. with the hangers 11 separate from the remainder of theunit.

To assemble the hangers with the board unit no tools of any kind arerequired. It is but necessary to insert the upturned portion 15E of thehanger unit into the openings 13 in the panel portion 10 and to shovethe hanger forwardly until the yoke portion 14 of the hanger engages thecam surface 21, as illustrated in Fig. 4. By pressing downwardly andthen forwardly on the yoke portion 14 of the hanger, the hanger can bereadily sprung into the position illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein the yokeportion of the hanger is disposed in the channel 22, the hanger beingthereby held in place against movement in any direction by any normalforces tending to displace it. It should be stated that the cutaway at13 aids in receiving the upturned ends 15E of the hanger when the hangeris started through the openings 13, at which time the hanger as a wholewill extend upwardly and rearwardly.

It will be understood that articles hung upon the arm portions 15 of thehangers that extend forwardly from the panel, tend to swing the yokeportions 14 of the hangers upwardly. However, such action only tendsmore firmly to lock the hangers in the channel 22. Since substantiallythe entire length of the yoke portion 14 of each hanger is embraced bythe metal forming the channel 22, the sheet material can be relativelythin stock and still afford ample strength.

The portions 25 defining edges of the cut-outs 17 are located withincorners of the U-shaped hanger members and thus prevent any unduemovement of the hanger members longitudinally ofthe board panel.

Theupstanding curved and reversely curved portions at the-rear bottom ofthe board unit, in addition to serving as cam surfaces and hangerlocl'ng rrians; also add greatly to the rigidity and-stabilityoftheunit-as a whole and are factors permitting'the use ofrelatively thinsheet stock that will, atthe' same time, provideadequate strength withsuitable'spring actionto enable easy safe assembly of the hangerswiththe board unit. These factors enable production at a relatively lowcost.

It will be seen from the foregoing thatthere are no separate partson'the boa-rd which-must be swung into positionto lock the hangermembers in'plaee andwhi'ch require the use of tools, nor are therecut-out tongues which the assembler must bend into lockingposition andwhich require the use of tools of some sort.

lf, for any reason, it should be de'siredto' disassemble the deviceafter assembly, t-his'can' bedone. To' remo've a hanger it is onlynecessary to press rearwardly onthe outer ends of the hanger arms. Whenso doing, the surface 22C of the channel 22 acts as a cam surface toforce the yoke portion 14 of the hanger downwardly with perhaps someupward springing of the reversely curved terminal portion 20 until theyoke portion is free, at-which time the yoke'portion can bemoved'upwardly to the position substantially asshown in Fig. 4, andcomplete separation effected by rearward withdrawal of the hanger as a'whole.

It will, of course, be understood that'display boards may be made invarious sizes and with any desired number of hangers, the one shown inthe drawings-being by way of illustration and not byway of limitation.

I claim:

1. A display board having hangers projecting'from the front side thereofand adapted to be packaged in dismantled condition and to be assembledwithout the use of tools, a panel member formed of sheet metal stockhaving a bottom portion extending rearwardly from the'bottomedge-thereof, the longitudinal rear margin of said bottom portionbeing-formed into an elongated first portion extending upwardly adjacentthe rear marginal part thereof, said first portion merging into a secondportion which extends downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, said firstand second portions forming a generally downwardly facing elongatedchannel spaced forwardly of the longitudinal rear margin, said panelmember being provided with a plurality of spaced rod-receiving openingsadjacent the'lower margin thereof, and a U- shaped hanger for each pairof said rod-receiving openings, with the side arms of theU-shaped'hanger extending at right angles from opposite ends of the yokeportion, the side arms of said U-shaped hanger rods being insertablethrough a pair of said rod-receiving openings, the terminal margins ofsaid rearwardly extending aasaate 4v bottom portion of the panel beingcut away in a" forward direction so that by downward and forwardpressure on the yoke portion of the hanger, the same is caused to lodgein the channel formed by said first and second portions, and portions ofthe hanger between the side arms and the yoke are accommodated in saidcutaway areas, thereby operatively-seeuring the hanger in place.

2. The arrangement set' forth' in claim 1 in which the\ said firstportion extends'rearwardlyas well as upwardly.

3. The arrangement set forth in claim 1 in which a part of thebottom'portion'is cutaway in the vertical plane of the panel member tofacilitate assembly of the hanger with the display board.

4. A display board having hange'rs projecting from the front sidethereof and adapted to be packaged in dismantled condition and to beassembled without the use of tools, a panel member formed of sheet metalstock having a bottom portion extending rearwardly from the bottomedge'thereof, the longitudinal re'a'r'margin of said bottom portionbeing formedinto anelongated first portion extending'up'war'dlyadjacent'therear marginalpa'rt, said first portion merging into -asecond portionwhich extends downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, saidfirst and second portions forming --a generally downwardlyfacing-elongated channel spaced forwardly of the'longitudinal rearmargin, a' third portion merging with said second portion, said thirdportion being reversely bent to extend upwardly and forwardly, therebyproviding a cam surface for engagement by a'portion of the -hange'r rodin the assembly operation, said panel member being provided'with aplurality of spaced rod-receiving openings adjacent thelower'marginthe'reof, and a U-shaped hanger-for each pair of saidrod-receiving-openings, with the'side arms of the U-shaped hangerextending at right angles from opposite endsof the yoke portion,- theside arms of said U-shaped hanger rods being insertable through a pairof said rod-receiving openings the terminal margins of said rearwardlyextending bottom portion of the panel being cut away in a forwarddirection so that by downward and forward pressure'on the yoke portionof the hanger, the yoke portion is caused to engage the cam surface ofsaid third portion,-thereby facilitating the lodging of the yoke portionin thechannel formed by said first and second portions, and portions ofthe hanger between the side arms and the yoke are accommodated in saidcutaway areas, whereby the'hanger is operatively secured in place.

References Cited in the fiieof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,732,162 Griner- Oct. 15,1929 2,723,432 Flora Nov. 15,1955 2,730,243Platt Jan. 10, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 500,244 Canada Mar. 2, 1954

